Thursday, June 05, 2008

The Nerves' "When You Find Out"

That's The Nerves on the Cover

Here’s my weekly reminder to tune in to Sinking with Sylvia and Todd on Little Radio Friday from Noon to 2:00 PM. Tomorrow they don’t have any scheduled guests.

Each week I pick a track, they play it, and I write about it here. On May 15th my pick was The Nerves’ “When You Find Out.” The Nerves were a short-lived LA power pop trio who were active from 1975 – 1978. They only released one EP and are best known for writing “Hanging on the Telephone” which was made famous by Blondie.

I first became familiar with The Nerves after picking up the excellent Rhino compilation, DIY: Come Out and Play – American Power Pop 1975-1978. “When You Find Out” jumped out at me because it’s so damn catchy and sounds like a lost British Invasion track.

In the early 90’s, Rhino did a whole series of DIY compilations about UK and US power pop and punk scenes from the 1970s and early 80s. When Amoeba first opened I picked up most of the compilations for $5 - $8. Some of the compilations have since become a bit tougher to track down (especially this one, which goes for about $30 used). Most of the compilations are fantastic, mixing the obscure with the heavy hitters. As a result of these compilations, I’ve added a number of bands to my already lengthy list of obscure records to try to track down.No Age recently added a cover of The Nerves’ “When You Find Out” to b-side of their “Eraser” 7”. I haven’t heard it yet, but I’m curious…